All about the front end

This week I'm attending the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE). The attendance has been noteworthy - over 5000 people, from 49 states and many countries. There must be hundreds of speakers - every day's agenda is packed tight. Yet, as one speaker noted, there are almost no topics on fulfillment and delivery, and few vendors; the balance is overwhelmed by marketing and the front-end. In fact, the goal seems to be a business model that doesn't require inventory at all!